Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) by Kristina Stanley Read Free Book Online Page B

missing.”
    Jessica had seen the helicopter earlier. Her gut clenched. When he hadn’t returned her calls, she never guessed he might be hurt…or worse. And why hadn’t Turner told her? What a jerk.
    “It’s possible he went into the Bowl alone this morning before the lifts opened,” Aiden said.
    “I told him he shouldn’t be doing that alone. And usually, he lets me know before he goes. I don’t get why you think he was caught in an avalanche. There’s something you’re not telling me.”
    “A guest saw someone going up the hill early this morning before the avalanche. Search and rescue found part of a backpack with a Canadian flag sewn on the flap. The same kind Roy had.”
    Her heart raced. He couldn’t be buried. Not Roy. “Did they find anything else?”
    “His ski pole.”
    “Even if he was caught in the avalanche, he could be trekking down the mountain right now. You don’t know he’s hurt.” Jessica regretted every lousy thought she’d had about Roy. If only he would walk in and she could yell at him for not answering her messages, but not this.
    “You look pale. Are you alright?”
    “It’s been a bad day.”
    “So I heard. Everyone’s talking about the theft. Funny Roy disappeared this morning.” Aiden shrugged. “Just sayin’.”
    Kalin opened the door without knocking.
    By the tears on her cheeks, the news was bad. Hope that Roy had been found alive crashed to the ground like a tree felled by a chainsaw, and the sharp branches stabbed tiny holes in Jessica’s heart.
     
    * * *
     
    Kalin entered her new home, surprised Chica wasn’t at the door to greet her. Talking to Jessica about Roy had exhausted her. She didn’t know how to support the woman when she wasn’t that fond of her. She tossed her jacket on the bench in the front hall.
    “Chica?”
    The thump of her tail came from Roy’s room. Kalin found her on his bed, chewing one of his socks.
    “Bad girl.” Kalin rushed to the bed and shoved Chica to the floor. She tugged the ripped sock from Chica’s jaws, and her breath caught in her throat.
    Chica scrunched into the corner and wagged her tail. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d yelled at her. She never yelled at her dog. Only, she was chewing something of Roy’s. Kalin crouched and rested her palm on Chica’s head. “I’m sorry.”
    Chica licked Kalin’s nose. Unable to control herself, Kalin sobbed. She stroked Chica’s back, and Chica nuzzled her neck. Even after Kalin had been a jerk, the dog loved her.
    How many times had she wished Roy wasn’t living with them, intruding on her new home with Ben? She’d taken him for granted. Kalin couldn’t stand being in Roy’s room. “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”
    Her beloved dog followed, somehow knowing Kalin needed her. The hollowness of the house pressed in on her, and she crashed on the couch to wait for Ben.
    A shout came from downstairs. “Kalin, it’s Nora.”
    Nora, all of five-feet tall and carrying her son, burst into the room. Having a mind of its own, her short black hair stuck out at odd angles. And even after delivering a baby, she still weighed less than one hundred pounds. “I just heard. Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come sooner.”
    “I’m not thinking straight. So much happened today.” Kalin reached for eight-month-old Ethan and hugged him. Born while trapped in the forest by a fire with a Grizzly bear pacing nearby, Ethan had been given the middle name of Forest.
    Nora draped her jacket over the back of the couch. One leg of her cargo pants stuck inside a sock. She put her arms around Kalin and Ethan in a group hug. “Any news?”
    Kalin felt like a giraffe standing so close to Nora. At five-foot-ten, she could rest her chin on the top of Nora’s head. “Nothing. Did you hear about the theft, too?”
    “The rumors are spreading. How could I not hear?”
    Nora scampered to the kitchen and uncorked a bottle of white wine. “We need this.”
    Kalin accepted a glass